Most services also encourage members to add photos or videos to their profile.

Once a profile has been created, members can view the profiles of other members of the service, using the visible profile information to decide whether or not to initiate contact.

Like all young people looking for answers, Tinder users have turned to Google, where the phrase ‘Is Tinder just for hook-ups? In an effort to find out the answer, I put this question to the floor and sent the message ‘Is Tinder just for hook-ups? The responses were varied, but included: ‘Dunno, you tell me. MORE: How I won at Tinder But on the whole, it’s fair to say there is a perception amongst men looking for casual sex that Tinder is the answer – suddenly because women are on the so-called straight Grindr, they must finally be after a no-strings set-up.

On the whole, members of the gay community are far more likely to engage in casual relationships than members of the straight community.

If you want an example of how men would like to behave in relationships, look for what they do when women aren’t involved.

Tinder really does seem to be everywhere at the moment.

But hailed as the ‘straight Grindr’, the app has caused some confusion amongst its users, who can’t seem to decide whether it’s intended to find them a one-night stand or a long-term love. ’ and the no-doubt sarcastic: ‘No, I’m looking for a wife.’ Although there was the odd more gentlemanly response (‘I don’t know, I’m just finding my feet on here…’) it soon became clear that the vast proportion of the men I asked were on Tinder to find that casual set-up that so often eludes them on traditional dating websites – and indeed in non-virtual dating. I have one male friend in search of a serious girlfriend who returned to Guardian Soulmates after a quick flirtation on Tinder because he felt the girls on there weren’t serious enough about having a relationship.

Online dating (or Internet dating) is a system that enables strangers to find and introduce themselves to new personal connections over the Internet, usually with the goal of developing personal, romantic, or sexual relationships.

An online dating service is a company that provides specific mechanisms (generally websites or applications) for online dating through the use of Internet-connected personal computers or mobile devices.

The most common response went along the lines of: ‘Maybe, but I’m not on here for that’. Its tagline ‘Discover those around you’ is much more oblique than Grindr’s mission statement ‘Find gay, bi and curious guys near you’, which seems to set out the state of play in quite clear terms.

But perhaps both apps and their taglines have adapted to their client-base.

Other sites target highly specific demographics based on features like shared interests, location, religion, or relationship type.

Online dating services also differ widely in their revenue streams.

***After I wrote this review, the devs abused their ability to e-mail reviewers to essentially harass and pressure me into changing my review.